Major League Soccer is celebrating the creativity that goes into its clubs’ jersey designs with “Jersey Week,” starting today (Wednesday, Oct. 20) and running until Oct. 27.
The highlight of Jersey Week is a set of four special-edition patches that will be worn on game jerseys and given away with the purchase of team jerseys at gameday venues.
The patches were designed by Dionte’ Johnson, a designer based in Columbus, Ohio, who owns and operates a sneaker boutique about two miles from Lower.com Field, home of the Columbus Crew. Johnson played fullback with Ohio State University and the Arizona Cardinals before injuries ended his football career.
“I was like, I want this to be more so about the fans, the jersey, the people who wear it. How do you wear something that’s cool and that still means so much to the fans?” Johnson told MLSsoccer.com. “When MLS said it was an opportunity to have multiple designs, I was like, well, my first goal will be fashion and retail and to make something for everyone. But also, you know, put forth a message. We wanted to make something that was diverse, something that was simple and clean. And patches that overall felt like collector’s items more so than something that would pop back up or that you would see again.”
The first patch features the 2021 Jersey Week tagline of “Love Thy Kit.” The second is based on NASA shuttle mission patches. The third, featuring a camper van, celebrates the experience of following your club to an away match. And the fourth highlights the connection between Canada and the United States in MLS.
“Canada always gets kind of put as an afterthought and when they kind of mentioned that, I was like, well, you know, let’s make sure we embody this brotherhood,” Johnson said.
“I was excited about it. ‘Cause I think if you know the reference, it makes it that much sweeter.”
In previous years, MLS has celebrated Jersey Week closer to the start of the season, or even before the season kicked off, with mass unveilings of new kits and fan votes on all-time best jerseys from the league.
Jersey Week also means select jerseys are on sale for up to 50% off at MLSStore.com. The event will finish up on Oct. 27 with the announcement of the top 25 best-selling MLS jerseys for the 2021 season.
Feature photo courtesy MLSSoccer.com
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